Chapter 8
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Over the following weeks, everyone held their breath as they waited to see if anything would appear in The Daily Prophet, as they tried to bring things back to something close to normalcy. They all told themselves that it was for Harry's sake, but, in truth, they all needed it as much as he did.
Harry was making minimal progress with Psych-Healer Jordan, his therapist. This whole experience had brought back his childhood feelings of insecurity and lack of self-worth. She had tried almost all her techniques and nothing seemed to work, but she refused to give up. She bid Harry a warm farewell for the day, admonishing him to rest, before she left to go home and do more research.
As Harry lay there in the quiet of his room, he could faintly hear the homey sounds of members of the household and staff going about their regular routines. Every now and then he could hear them speaking quietly. Slowly, the sounds lulled him to sleep. When the bed dipped next to him, he awakened and turned toward the movement, to see a small boy, about three or four years of age, sitting next to him, watching him intently.
"Hello. Are you Mast'r Hawwy, that ev'wy one is wowwied about?" He asked, dark eyes looking at Harry intently.
Harry cleared his throat a couple times before speaking. "Yes, I suppose I am. And who may I ask is my current visitor?" He studied the child as he spoke, noticing familiar features.
"I'm S'bastian. S'bastian Conn'ry-Snape." Sebastian answered with a huge smile.
Harry returned the smile before he reached out and gently shook the small hand offered to him. "I am very please to make your acquaintance, Master Sebastian Connery-Snape."
Studying the small boy, he could see the resemblances in the black eyes, the pale skin, high cheekbones, long slender fingers, and the lean build, but that was where the similarities to Severus stopped. And how had Harry missed the fact that Severus Snape had had a son? Or that he was even in a relationship? He could guess at the appearance of the other parent. Hair a toasty shade of brown, with little highlights of gold, an aquiline nose--large bump absent, rosy cheeks, full lips, and a bright smile. Whomever the other person was, they were attractive.
"Papa talks about you all the time." The little face scrunched up in thought for a moment. "Calls you vane of his ex'tance."
Harry chuckled, as he held his ribs. "That would be 'the Bane of his Existence'. Yes, he used to tell me that all the time when I was still in school."
"Wassit mean?"
"He used to catch me getting into trouble all the time at school. Gave him awful headaches, I did." Harry felt a small twinge of remorse at that point.
The little face scrunched up again. "Does that mean I'm the bane of Papa's 'xistence when I get in twouble?" The little brows furrowed a bit in worry.
"No, Sebastian. I doubt that very much. I'm sure your Papa loves you very much and is understanding of you." He smiled as he watched relief wash over the small features.
Sebastian fidgeted for a moment before reaching into his robes and pulling out a tiny book that automatically returned to it's full size. Looking at Harry with large eyes, he held the book out to him. "Would you pwease read me a stowwy?"
Harry took the book and turned it around so he could see what it was, curious as to what Severus would allow his son to read. His eyebrows rose in surprise as he recognized the title of the thin volume. It was Walt Disney's Sword in the Stone; a Muggle fairy tale. He grinned as he looked at Sebastian, holding out his arm so the boy could tuck in beside him as he opened the cover to the first page.
"I've read this one! It was one of my favorites."
Of course, he would never tell the boy that the only reason he'd been able to read it was because his cousin, Dudley, had a bad habit of leaving his books lying around. Harry would snatch them up, read them quickly, then return them to where ever he'd found them before morning.
They spent the next half hour, with Harry reading the story, with frequent breaks to discuss the pictures, and how this fairy tale differed from actual Wizarding history. Harry was very impressed with Sebastian's knowledge and analytical abilities for one so young. But, then he was the son of Severus Snape, after all. As Harry finally closed the book, a voice called Sebastian's name from downstairs. Sebastian pocketed the book quickly and slid from the bed. Turning, he addressed Harry in a whisper.
"Pwease don' tell an'one I came in here. M'not s'posed to, but I wanted to see you." He glanced sidelong at the door, hearing footsteps ascending the stairs.
Harry's eyes danced. "I will keep your secret. But, you can visit me any time. I don't mind at all." He whispered. "You'd better scoot. I hear someone coming. Use that door over there. It will take you into the next suite. Good bye Sebastian."
Dark eyes smiled as the boy waved and disappeared through the indicated door. 'The boy would make a great spy.' He mused as he slid down and pulled the duvet up to his chin. Closing his eyes, he slipped immediately into slumber, a smile on his face. It was the first truly happy experience he'd had in a very long time, and for once, he didn't require a sleeping draught.
A few moments later, Poppy entered the room and approached the bed, Harry's Sleeping Draught in hand. It was time for his afternoon dose. She stopped dead at the end of the bed when she saw the young man already blissfully asleep with a smile on his face. She had to remind herself to close her mouth as she looked around the room to see if there was anything new. Seeing nothing, she left the room quietly and made a mental note to annotate Harry's file and contact his Psych-Healer.
Tbc…